Chapter 330: Discussing Classic Poems

Bullet comments become lively again—

【Bullet comment·Song dynasty·Su Shi】

My body lacks the twin wings of a colorful phoenix, yet my heart shares a single point of spiritual resonance.

Even I, an old man, cannot write those two lines.

【Bullet comment·Ming dynasty·Tang Bohu】

Li Shangyin's love poems could be used as textbooks.

【Bullet comment·modern netizen】

Li Shangyin wrote a poem that people for centuries still cannot fully decipher.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Zhou Yu】

Gongjin, upon reading the poem, thought Li Shangyin to be a delicate person.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Xiao Qiao】

Husband, you also write poems very well.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Zhou Yu】

Madam, stop teasing; comparing my poems to Li Shangyin's, they're far off.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Cao Cao】

Gongjin is rarely humble.

On the sky screen, the scene switches to a night rain.

Li Shangyin sits alone by the window; outside, rain patters down, the wind rattles the window lattice, producing a creaking sound.

He lifts his brush and writes a few lines on a sheet of paper.

【Classic lyrical poem·'Night Rain Sent North'】

You ask when I will return, but there is no set date; the night rain on Mount Ba swells the autumn pond.

When shall we together trim the western‑window candles, and then speak of the night rain on Mount Ba?

This poem is short, only four lines, yet its emotion is as intense as ink that will not dissolve.

Liu Che read the poem, then fell silent for a moment,

"This poem… as I read it, I suddenly felt my nose go sour."

Liu Xiu nodded: "'You ask when I will return, but there is no set date'—the other person asks when he will go back, and he cannot give an answer."

"It's not that he doesn't want to give an answer; he truly doesn't know."

"Such helplessness, so real."

Li Shimin continued: "'The night rain on Mount Ba swells the autumn pond'—the rain outside is heavy, filling the pond completely."

"It depicts scenery and feeling. The rain fills the pond, and longing fills his heart as well."

Wei Zheng continued his interpretation: "'When shall we together trim the western‑window candles'—when can we meet again and cut the western‑window candle flowers together? It's a beautiful expectation, an imagined scene."

"'Then speak of the night rain on Mount Ba'—when we meet, we will again talk together about today's scene of the night rain on Mount Ba."

"The marvel of this poem lies in how it weaves together the present, future, and memory."

Fang Xuanling sighed: "The present loneliness becomes future recollection."

"Future gatherings will again look back on present loneliness."

"Time here is shattered, then recombined."

"Li Shangyin's handling of time is exceedingly brilliant."

Ying Zheng, looking at the poem, suddenly said: "When I was on a distant campaign, I also wrote a letter to Zhao Ji."

The people in the hall all turned to look at the First Emperor.

Liu Bang tentatively asked: "First Emperor, you also wrote a letter to Zhao Ji? What did you write?"

Ying Zheng, expressionless, said: "I don't remember."

Liu Bang: "…"

It seems the First Emperor also has past events he does not wish to mention.

Bullet comments surge again—

【Bullet comment·Tang dynasty netizen】

"Night Rain Sent North", four lines, twenty‑eight characters, each word a pearl.

【Bullet comment·Song dynasty netizen】

When shall we together trim the western‑window candles—how many people's dream is that!

【Bullet comment·modern netizen】

A must‑read poem for long‑distance love.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Zhuge Liang】

I, the minister, read this poem and thought of His Majesty Liu Bei's expedition to Eastern Wu, and my own feelings waiting for news in Chengdu.

"'You ask when I will return, but there is no set date'—"

Those waiting don't know when they'll return; this torment, I understand.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Liu Bei】: Kongming… I am sorry to you.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Cao Cao】: Liu Bei, don't take this chance to be sentimental.

【Bullet comment·Three Kingdoms·Sun Quan】

I think the best line of this poem is 'The night rain on Mount Ba swells the autumn pond.'

In the scenery there is feeling, in the feeling there is scenery, the two merge.

On the sky screen, the scene changes again.

This time, Li Shangyin stood on Leyou Plain, gazing at the distant sunset.

His silhouette, illuminated by the sunset, stretched out very long.

【Ode to History, Famous Piece: "Ascending Leyou Plain"】

At dusk, feeling uneasy, he drove his carriage up the ancient plain.

The sunset is infinitely beautiful, yet it is close to dusk.】

The whole poem has only twenty characters, yet it writes the fate of a person, an era, and a dynasty.

"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, yet it is close to dusk."

Li Shimin recited those two lines, and fell silent for a long time.

As the emperor of Great Tang, he could understand the meaning of those lines more than anyone else.

Great Tang was once unparalleled in splendor, like the sun at its zenith.

But now, the celestial screen tells him that in the late Great Tang, the sunset, though beautiful, is already near dusk.

That feeling is hard to bear.

Wei Zheng said softly, "Your Majesty, this poem is not merely describing scenery; it is also writing about Great Tang's destiny."

Li Shimin nodded, "I know."

Liu Che sighed, "The most terrifying thing is not darkness, but knowing that darkness is coming while being unable to do anything."

Liu Xiu added, "Li Shangyin stood on Leyou Plain, watching the sunset; what he thought in his heart was probably more than just the scenery."

"He was thinking of Great Tang's destiny, his own life, and those things that cannot be reclaimed."

Liu Bang, rarely so solemn, said:

"In a person's whole life, the greatest fear is not failure, but watching the things one cares about fade away helplessly."

Ying Zheng's gaze remained fixed on those two lines—"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, yet it is close to dusk."

His Great Qin was no different, was it?

After a brief brilliance comes a long darkness.

The barrage flashed across the screen again—

【Barrage·Tang Netizen】

The sunset is infinitely beautiful, yet it is close to dusk. These two lines are the best footnote to Late Tang.

【Barrage·Song Netizen】

Every time I read these two lines, I feel a pang of sorrow.

【Barrage·Ming Netizen】

Dynasties rise and fall, history cycles.

The sunset is infinitely beautiful, yet it is close to dusk.

【Barrage·Modern Netizen】

As a child I thought these two lines only described scenery; growing up I realized they describe an entire life.

【Barrage·Three Kingdoms·Cao Cao】

These two lines make me think of "Raise a cup and sing, how brief is life."

They both lament the fleeting of time and the brevity of life.

But my poems, Cao Cao's, are bold and stirring, while Li Shangyin's are low and melancholy.

That is because the eras differ, and so do the mindsets.

【Barrage·Three Kingdoms·Cao Zhi】

Brother, you are right.

People living in an ascendant period and those living in a declining period indeed write different things.

【Barrage·Three Kingdoms·Sima Yi】

Zhongda, upon reading this poem, thought Li Shangyin was a tragic figure.

He sees through everything, yet cannot change anything.

This clear‑sighted suffering is more tormenting than a foolish pain.

【Barrage·Three Kingdoms·Zhuge Liang】

Zhongda's words are reasonable.

Seeing through yet powerless to change is indeed the most painful.

Gu Shanhe watched these barrages, feeling countless emotions—

Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi have again reached a consensus on the celestial screen.

If this were set in the Three Kingdoms era, it would be sheer fantasy.

The golden light on the celestial screen flowed slowly, and the final frame froze on Li Shangyin's portrait.

He stood amid Late Tang's waning sun, his gaze fixed on the distance, a faint, half‑smile tugging at his lips.

【Celestial Screen Comment: In the afterglow of Great Tang's setting sun, he writes all joys and sorrows with a single brush. Though his life is plagued by hardship and disappointment, he still uses splendid and profound words to leave the most moving final song for Late Tang.】

【Celestial Screen Golden List now begins awarding rewards to those who made the list】

【In view of Li Shangyin pioneering the hazy poetic style, his untitled poems reigning supreme through the ages, leaving the final splendid chapter for Tang poetry, special reward: lifespan increased by ten years.】

The people in the hall were no longer surprised by this reward.

Liu Bang took a bite of an apple,

"Another ten years. The reward for the poet list seems always to be ten years."

(If you ask where Liu Bang's apple came from, of course it was borrowed from Gu Shanhe.)

✌︎˶╹ꇴ╹˶✌︎ I've never seen anyone so shameless (´∈dish∈｀)

Liu Che nodded: "The list of emperors through the ages lasts fifty years, the heroes list thirty years, the poets list ten years."

"Following the decreasing order of the list ranks, it also makes sense."

Liu Xiu smiled and said: "Ten years is not bad."

"For Lu You, ten years could allow writing several thousand more poems;"

"For Li Shangyin, ten years might mean living a few more years and leaving behind several more timeless works."

Li Shimin, however, shook his head: "It's a pity, Li Shangyin lived only over forty years."

"Even if you added ten years, he'd still be only in his fifties. Still an early death."

Wei Zheng said: "Your Majesty, there's no need to be overly regretful."

"Some people live a hundred years yet leave nothing behind; some live forty years yet leave behind poetry that lasts a thousand years."

"Measuring the value of a life has never been about how long one lives."

But the comment area of the sky curtain has become lively again.

Moreover, this time the liveliness far surpasses before.